Cape Gazette
FRIDAY. MARCH 2 - MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2012 9
It's a bit of history - good history - or so this writer
thinks, an inspiring moment which occurred on March 11,
2010 when three newly elected young Congressmen: Eric
Cantor, VA; Paul Ryan, WIS; and Kevin McCarthy, CA,
met in Washington, DC with french fries, water and diet
Pepsi.
Together they shaped an informal conservative format
which I believe will create an agenda formany, many, many
years.
"The party now understands that the people expect a decent
level of honesty and humility, in contrast to being the Party
of No. We must find tough leaders and have a well- defined
agenda."
Ryan "We have lost ideas and we have lost our core. Now
we are back to being doers again. We see what the
Democrats offer, how they plan to transform this Country
into a cradle-to-grave European-type welfare state and
forever bury the dreams of our forefathers."
These new founders agree in principle that both major
parties, Republican and Democrat, have been obsessed
with earmarks, by the way in which individual
Congressmen vote for each other's special interests in order
to provide support for their respective constituency. They
also agree that Congress has become too involved in serving
its own special interests as opposed to those of their own
constituents.
In 2010 Republicans finally 'won control of the House of
Representatives and, led by John Boehner. Speaker, and the
Young Guns enacted a moratorium on earmarks. Ryan
said, "We must cleanse ourselves of the corruption which
has gathered in both houses of Congress, even when
Republicans were in power."
Cantor "Democrats assumed they had a mandate. They
assumed there has been an ideological shift toward big
government and that they had a license to change the
country. Somehow they believe it is time for a new world
order, a time for even more entitlements and real
distribution.
Ryan "They shocked the American people. They shocked
me. And then - barn - out of the gates Obama and
company went hard left and very, very fast. They used our
rhetoric of the freedom of choice and opportunity to
sell an inherently statist agenda, one that was the
opposite of this Country's dominant and solid conservative
principles."
Conservative columnist, Fred Barnes, staggests that Eric
Cantor leads, Paul Ryan thinks, and Kevin McCarthy is the
strategist. The Young Guns believe the Party Establishment
has been dedicated to incumbents at all costs, i.e. John
McCain.
However they plan to dedicate their efforts to the election of
challengers, often overlooked by the party, who will be loyal
to the party's most basic principles: a limited government,
lower taxes, and freedom of choice - including religion.
You may be interested in a few excerpts from their meeting
on March 11, 2010.
McCarthy "Recruits are new like the Reagan years, with
new blood coming in, reinforcements to get the country
back to its roots and back to Reclaiming America."
McCarthy "They believe that they can make government so
big and the debt so large that it will be impossible to
reverse."
Cantor "However all of this has given the Country an
opportunity to compare what the Democrats are doing to
what has actually worked in the past, clearly
entrepreneurship, free markets and a level playing field. I
believe we must re-focus our agenda toward the future
and the young people and the people of all races. We are
the party of Lincoln."
"It is our responsibility to re-build public trust by getting
our fiscal house in order and-more important, prove to
Americans that, yes, we get it, we mean it, and by
Rod we will do it!"
Cantor "I begin to feel as if we are back on offense. During
Reagan we were positive. Twenty-one million new jobs and
industries booming. But through Bush this momentum fell
into a serious spin."
"Then came our big win in 2010, 63 new Congressmen,
including the Young Guns, the sleeping elephant is bringing
us back to a Party of Lincoln."
Readers and friends, let's all vote in 2012. We can
take over the Senate and the good Lord willing, the
Presidency.
Charles Dickens Tiny Tim said it best, "God bless us
everyone!"
Respectfully,
DANIEL G. ANDERSON
Excerpts from Young Guns, a New Generation of Conservative Leaders, by Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy, Simon & Schuster, Inc.. 2010.
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